February

Lawyers Journal

Tell us what you think of Annual Conference

By Abigail Shaine

February 2003

By the time you read this column the Annual Conference will be behind us for yet another year and we will be looking ahead to the other exciting conferences that we are planning. Several conferences are already planned or under active consideration. Some of these are old friends and some will be new.

Among the old familiar faces are the Labor and Employment Conference scheduled for the Park Plaza on May 1 and the Family Law Conference, which is returning to Nantucket in September 2003.

You should also keep an eye out for additional details about the upcoming program "How to Start and Run Your Own Successful Law Practice," set for April 10 at the MBA. That has always been a popular seminar. So, if you are interested, register early.

Under active consideration is a program about "How You Can Use Your Law Degree." While this curriculum is still under development, we hope to hold it in late April or early May. Mindful of the upheaval in the legal market, we are trying to help some of our members who have been affected by recent changes, as well as suggest career options to others who are just looking for a change of pace. Additionally, we anticipate including programs on resume writing and techniques for interviewing.

We also are taking a fresh look at the format and programming for the annual conference. Some of you may have encountered interviewers during the most recent conference, who were gathering thoughts from a sample of those who attended. If you are a regular attendee and have some ideas as to what we do right and/or what we could be doing differently, and you did not get an opportunity to meet with one of our interviewers during the conference, let me hear from you. If you are someone who has never attended one of the MBA's annual conferences, tell me what it would take to get you there.

I would really appreciate hearing from you. Please write to me directly at 20 West Street, Boston, MA. 02111.

In closing I would like to take a moment to publicly acknowledge my gratitude to Frank Moran, who shortly will be departing as executive director of the Boston Bar Association.

When I first took my position about one and one-half years ago, Frank was one of the first people to welcome me to the city. Over the past many months that we have worked together, he has been a source of professional support and a friend.

I know I speak for many of us when I say that Frank has made a tremendous contribution to the legal community in the city and the state. I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank him and tell him that I will be among the many who will miss him.